To slide headfirst or not to slide headfirst — a question for Nick Punto of A’s, Brandon Crawford of SF Giants

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawfordjoked with Nick Puntothat if Punto hit him a routine grounder, Crawford would time his throw so that Punto would have to slide headfirst.

Thing is, Punto might slide headfirst anyway. That’s a way of life for the A’s infielder.

“The key is: not to do it. I’ve been doing it since I was 6 years old, and I always tell kids, ‘Don’t do it,’ ” Punto said in an interview with Susan Slusser. “No one does it right. It’s tricky. I’ve only see a few people do it right. Robby Alomar, Everth Cabrera, Skip Schumaker.”

Punto defended his slides into first base in the wake of Josh Hamilton‘s left thumb injury that’ll shelve him six to eight weeks, a result of sliding headfirst trying for an infield single. Yasiel Puig missed three games after injuring his left thumb sliding into first.

“There’s nobody in the way at first, so it’s safer to go in headfirst there than it is to second, third or home, where you’ve got the fielder’s knee or foot or glove in front of you,” said Punto, who said of Hamilton and Puig, “They were way too airborne, and your fingers have to be up when you hit the bag and your thumbs have to be tucked.”

Crawford routinely slides headfirst at second, like many players. Last June, he sprained two fingers when getting tagged on the right hand on a steal attempt. As a result, his promising offensive numbers nose-dived.

“I feel a headfirst slide is a little bit faster,” Crawford said. “My momentum’s going forward, and it carries me into the slide. It’s not like that at first base, where you can run through the bag. I’ve slid headfirst my whole life. I’ve gotten hurt once. I’ll probably keep doing it.”

But not at first.

“You have to have unbelievable instincts and reactions to be able to do that and not hurt yourself,” Crawford said. “I feel I’m a pretty good athlete. I don’t think I’m athletic enough to be able to read the tag and dive in that split second.”

In September, Punto slid into first on a line-drive single to center. So it’s not something he’ll stop anytime soon.

“It might be faster going through the bag if you’re Usain Boltor Coco Crisp, but for me, it’s not,” Punto said. “First of all, I don’t have to count my steps, I don’t have to take any choppy steps – I can run as fast as I can. And I dive. I don’t slide headfirst. It’s a dive. There’s a difference. A headfirst slide would be slower. This is a dive.”

Punto played for the Dodgers last year and warned Puig against sliding into first.

“I told him, ‘Man, it’s not for you. We can’t lose you,’ ” Punto said. “If I’m a GM, I don’t want anyone to do it. I’m not condoning it – I just know how to do it.”